A Day at Sydney Harbor

After last weekend's torrential rains, we were looking forward to being able to get out of the house and see some sights.  We left Nicole home expecting a friend to visit (and, supposedly, to do math) and headed off on the train to Circular Quay.  Trains here are double-decker.

We intended to visit the Royal Botanical Gardens; however, with the threatening weather, we decided to stay closer to civilization in case we had to duck inside to avoid a soaking.  A short walk from Circular Quay is the Opera House.  It is magnificent up close and personal.

The view of Sydney from the Opera House is also stunning.

Of course, right across the harbor, is the iconic Sydney Harbor Bridge.  We could see groups of people climbing the arc of the structure, and all I could think was "no way, Jose."  The more moderate option is the climb the pylon (hmmmm).  The least strenuous is a walk across the bridge along the pedestrian path.  If we'd had a bit more time today, we would have given that a go, to see if my fear of heights would kick in or not.  Alas, that will have to wait for another day.

After a stroll around the Opera House peninsula, we explored The Rocks, an intimate, historical district that is actually the oldest part of Sydney.  We picked our way through the open air market and searched for a place for lunch.  After considering a couple of pubs that looked deserted, we headed back to the Quay to read menus and evaluate views.  We ended up at Peter Doyle's @ Quay, and it was a GREAT choice.

This was the view from our table, and the food terrific as well.

What a lovely morning and lunch date with Larry!

A Day in the Life...

...or What Does Carla do all Day?

Those of you who knew me in CT, knew me as the chair of the stewardship committee, the pumpkin queen, president of the parents association, adult Sunday school teacher, and VP Talent Management at InSource.  Relocating to Australia brought me to a hard stop.  Gotta say, it's kind of nice being able to reinvent and reallocate my energies!

It has begged the question, though, of what I do all day?

I'm up at 6:30 to wake Nicole.  At 7:10, I zip Nicole up to the train station for her daily commute to school.  Upon my return to the house (by 7:23), I make sure Larry is up.  A couple of beds made, a quick neatening of the kitchen as my English muffin toasts, and then I watch one of my favoriate Britcoms over breakfast.

Then it's over to the laptop for email, skype, and some work.  At some point in the morning, some light housekeeping - cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming, laundry - it's not so bad when you can spread out the chores over the whole week instead of trying to cram them all into one morning or afternoon.

The afternoon is reading - for Lent, I'm trying to spend more time in devotional reading - and a movie that I've recorded on the DVR. 

To get out of the house a couple of times a week, I have a few options:  walk up to Roseville (it's all uphill, but luckily it doesn't snow); drive somewhere; take the train or bus to Chatswood to shop.  I plan to do more of these little outings to get myself out of the house more.

Nicole gets home around 4pm, and we hangout for a bit while she has her afternoon snack.  Then it's homework for her and dinner prep for me.  Once a week, Larry and I head out for a small group study.  Occasionally, I have a book group night or a movie night. This weekend, we are invited to a new friend's birthday party. Nicole has a Friday night youth group social event and a Saturday night school event.

Not to worry, folks.  My pace may be slow, but it's relaxing!

My Birthday Part II

So thanks for all the Facebook wishes.  Loved being remembered by so many people.  Say what you like about time wasting, I've seen the upside of Facebook - birthday wishes and mutual friends living in Australia.

Larry, Nicole and I celebrated my birthday on March 16 with dinner at a Japanese restaurant in Kirribilli.  Kirribilli a town under the Sydney Harbor Bridge with winding streets and lots of town houses.  It reminds me vaguely of San Francisco.  Nice dinner.  Lovely gifts, too. An aboriginal design ceramic vase, some coasters with aboriginal art, and a gorgeous wrist watch.  On top of the lovely champagne lunch, turning 45 was a memorable birthday indeed!

Standing on the Sydney Harbor Bridge footpath

It's My Birthday - Part I

It's my first birthday in Australia.  People have asked me, with concern, how I will be spending the day.  Well, I am having a GREAT day.  I just got in from my 2-1/2 hour champagne lunch where I celebrated turning 45 with five absolutely lovely ladies - three Australians, a Brit, and a South African.  I left with an armful of flowers, cookies, a gorgeous scarf, and Bill Granger's Sydney Cookbook.

We dined at the Ad Lib Bistro in Pymble.  What a fantastic meal.  Spaghettini with chili, parsley, and hand-picked crab meat.  Why does "hand-picked crabmeat" sound so much yummier than just, plain, crab? I picked the restaurant out of the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2011.  Really, really good.  If you are in the Sydney area and haven't eaten here, I highly recommend it.

I have dinner with Larry and Nicole to look forward to tonight at a Japanese restaurant in Kirribilli.  Can't wait!

A Lovely Sunday

Spent a lovely Sunday afternoon with my husband.  We walked around Lane Cove (for those of you in CT, think West Hartford Center) making notes of restaurant locations and shops.  Larry stopped for a milkshake.  Milkshakes in Australia are not the thick, foamy shakes of the US.  They are more like thick milk with flavoring.

After our stroll about Lane Cove, we headed home with a side trip for afternoon tea to a lovely outdoor cafe in Roseville near the tennis courts, Sous le Soleil.  Larry had his cuppa, and I enjoyed an Australian favorite, the Lemon Lime Bitters.  We shared a Berry Financier, which is not a banking professional covered in berries but is an almond cake with blue berries served with strawberry sauce.  This was just enough to tide us over until dinner after church.

It was quite a warm weekend, lots of sun, so it was good to be outside.  We'd gone to the beach on Saturday for about an hour.  From this scenic overlook spot, you can see three beaches:  Manly Beach on the far left, Freshwater in the middle, and Curl Curl on the right.

Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I realize I live in a place of such stunning beauty.

WHEW!

Whew, we are nearly done arranging all our worldly goods.  When we woke up on March 2, our house looked like this:

And then, just a few hours later, it looked like this!

We had just the one living area with monochromatic rental furniture - serviceable but boring.  Because we'd bought a refrigerator, the rental became a fixture mid-way between the dining and lounge areas.

The relocation movers arrived promptly, and somehow, they managed to maneuver the double lorry in reverse to park in front of our house.  No idea how they did it, since street parking is the norm in the area.  Driving a regular car is sometimes taking your life in your hands as you dodge oncoming cars by slipping into the spots between cars parked on the street.  The lorry driver, Adam, must be a miracle worker.

When the truck doors opened, there was our stuff, wrapped in brown paper and packing tape, and we began the effort of truly moving into our new home. The moving crew were wonderful.  They unloaded the truck in record time and placed each item in the designated room (more or less).

Larry and I worked on unpacking and putting away.  It was joyful to see our things again; however, having lived with the bare minimum for so long, we both felt like we'd shipped too much.

It feels like we've been unpacking for days, and not everything is completely settled.  But it's darn close!